Novels with Recipes!

I love to eat. Three times a day.

Yummy looking sandwich with turkey, cranberry and brie

Before I had children who dictated everything and walked all over me, I loved to cook. Now my husband does most of the cooking and I let him because, hey, everyone needs a creative outlet and cooking is his. I don't even mind the dirty  dishes because what he creates is so much better than anything I ever tried to cook for my family.

Even though I seldom spend hours in the kitchen anymore, I appreciate a good meal. so early on I decided to include at least one recipe in every novel I publish. My characters eat delicious meals so why not pass along those ideas to the reader?

Listed below are the recipes from my books. I include a recipe in each book I publish and I get loads of feedback from readers that they like this. When I speak at bookclubs, they often make the food mentioned in the book, which tickles me to no end.
I'd like to say you need to buy my books to get these recipes BUT you don't. However, if you like a good mystery, some steamy scenes and a touch of freaky-ass supernatural, you'll like my books. The only one with no supernatural whatsoever is Necessary Detour, my biggest hit that was written before I decided I couldn't write a book without something strange and inexplicable happening.

Bon Appetite!

-Chicken Teriyaki
-Hot Crossed Buns
-Gnocchi with Sweet Tomato Sauce
-Seafood Chowder
-Pot Roast
-Coq au Vin
-Mac Nut-Crusted Fish with Papaya Pico
-Xmas Cookies
-Perfect Turkey
-Cranberry Sauce

The Dream Jumper's Promise

"With a to-go tub of chicken teriyaki in hand, Tina grabbed a six-pack of Corona and a lime and headed for the checkout. She remembered that Jamey liked his beer ice cold, almost frozen. She’d once trickled a few drops playfully on his flat abdomen and licked it off. He’d called her a beer temptress.   Now he had a wife. A beautiful wife who looked to be everything Tina wasn’t. Glamorous, tall, blond—A strangely similar look to Hank’s fiancee when Tina first met her husband to be."

• Teriyaki Chicken with Mango Chutney
  
  Ingredients
• 3/4 lb chicken breasts or thighs
• 2 Tbsp sake
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 4 Tbsp mirin
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• grated ginger

Preparation: Poke chicken using a fork. Mix other ingredients in a bowl. Marinate the chicken in the mixture for 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan. First, fry the skin side of the chicken on medium heat until the skin is browned. Turn the chicken over to fry the other side on low heat. Pour the sauce used to marinate chicken in the pan. Cover the pan and steam cook the chicken on low heat until done. Remove the lid and simmer until the sauce becomes thick. Stop the heat. Slice the chicken and serve on a plate. Pour thickened sauce over the teriyaki chicken. Garnish with grated ginger and sesame seeds.

Mango Chutney

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 6 cups mangoes (4 to 5), peeled and cut in 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, whole
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes (hot)
• Preparation
• 1 Combine sugar and vinegar in a 6 quart pot; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
  2 Add remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, until syrupy and slightly thickened, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir occasionally during cooking.
  3 Pour into clean, hot jars leaving 1/2-inch space; close jars. Process in a water bath 15 minutes.
  Makes 6 (1/2 pint) jars
• 
  
• Necessary Detour
  "Nikki pulled out her baking sheets and gathered the ingredients for her grandmother’s delicious hot crossed buns. Flour, sugar, salt, raisins, milk. The tasty confection was probably the only thing Nikki knew how to bake and she was determined to deliver the mouth-watering buns to Pete Bayer with an equally sweet smile."
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  
• 
  
• Hot Crossed Buns
  Ingredients 
• 3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon instant powdered milk
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup dried currants
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons milk

Preparation

Mix warm water and yeast in bowl. Add butter, skim milk powder, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, egg, egg white and flour.
Knead for ten minutes, add currants and cinnamon. Leave in covered bowl until mix doubles.
Punch down on floured surface, cover, and let rest 10 minutes. Shape into 12 balls and place in a greased 9 x 12 inch pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double, about 35-40 minutes.
Mix egg yolk and 2 tablespoons water. Brush on balls.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.
To make crosses: mix together confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and milk. Brush an X on each cooled bun. Then package in a basket and go walking through the woods, looking for a gorgeous neighbor.

The Husband Hunt

"You haven't lived until you've tried Guiseppe's Gnocchi," the driver said. Jaxie was salivating by the time he opened the door for her, knowing that even if it was against the rules to stop for dinner on the way to the TV studio, there was no going back now. 

• EASY GNOCCHI with Sweet Tomato Sauce
  
  Gnocchi Ingredients:
• 
  2  Potatoes
  2 cups All Purpose Flour
  1 Egg
• 
  Directions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Peel potatoes and add to pot. Cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and mash with a fork or potato masher.
2. Combine 1 cup mashed potato, flour and egg in a large bowl. Knead until dough forms a ball. Shape small portions of the dough into long "snakes". On a floured surface, cut snakes into half-inch pieces.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop in gnocchi and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until gnocchi have risen to the top; drain and serve.

Sweet Tomato Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 28-oz cans whole tomatoes, with liquid
• ½ cup olive oil
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 Tbsp Kosher salt (or to taste)
• 2 tsp sugar

Preparation:

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil for a minute over medium heat.

Add the onions and carrots, and sauté for a bit until the onions are translucent but not brown.

Add the tomatoes and the garlic. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, uncovered, until the sauce is slightly reduced. If you like, you can use a wooden spoon to break up the whole tomatoes while the sauce simmers.

Remove from heat and pass through a food mill or purée in a food processor until smooth, working in batches if necessary.

Season to taste with Kosher salt and sugar.

 THE DREAM JUMPER'S SECRET

Pops’ Seafood Chowder

"He stood and moved to the stove where he ladled soup into two red ceramic bowls on the counter beside the pot. “Seafood Chowder okay?”
She nodded even though nausea had set in. Stroking Harry’s head, she thought about all the things that might endanger Jamey in Afghanistan. Bombs, missiles, bullets."


Pops says – “It’s fattening but lip-smacking good on a cold, rainy night. Get one of those fancy chunks of bread to clean the bowl.”

Ingredients

2 large onions, diced
3 carrots, sliced
7 potatoes, cubed
1 pound salmon, cut into chunks
1 pound cod, cut into chunks
1 pound scallops
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 ounces cooked lobster meat, shredded
1 can (6 ounces) crabmeat, drained, flaked
4 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups half & half
1 ½ cups butter, cubed
Salt and pepper

Directions
Fill a large pot halfway with lightly salted water, bring to a boil. Add onions, carrots and cook until slightly tender. Stir in seafood, cook over medium heat until salmon and cod are firm but slightly translucent in center (10 minutes). Drain half the water, add heavy cream and half & half. Add butter, season, cover and simmer until fish is fully cooked (30 minutes).

Millie’s Three-Hour Pot Roast

"Tina sat with her back to the wall, trying not to think about her thirst and hunger. She was imagining Millie’s pot roast, when something bumped outside the door. The radio that played continuous Afghani music continued to pump out noise as she strained, listening for abnormalities. "

Ingredients
½ cup all-purpose flour
Black Pepper
3 ½ pound Rump Roast
¼ Cup Butter
½ envelope Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 Can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
½ cup Dry Vermouth or White Wine

16. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
17. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and black pepper to taste. Dredge the rump roast in the flour and cover evenly. Shake off excess.
18. In a large pot over medium/high heat, melt the butter and brown the roast on all sides. Place in a 4 quart casserole dish with lid.
19. In a small bowl, combine the soup mix, mushroom soup, and vermouth or white wine; pour over roast.
20. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 3 hours or until desired doneness.

Millie adds – “When Tina is home to visit, she likes this roast served with roasted potatoes and carrots. Elizabeth prefers creamy mashed potatoes with the gravy poured on top.”

THE DREAM JUMPER'S PURSUIT

Mombacho Coq au Vin

"Annie set the late of succulent chicken on the deck's outdoor dining room table, glancing at Tina. "We won't wait for the men or we'll be starving before they come back from the islands to tell us they didn't find a trace of that poor boy." The aroma of garlic and onions was too much to resist after all Tina had been through today. Racing around a volcano was tiring. Finally, Kai was asleep in the guest room and with a moment to exhale, Tina tore into the tender chicken. 'Annie, I think I love you.'"

Ingredients

12 slices bacon, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
5 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, rinsed, patted dry and cut into 2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
20 small pearl onions, peeled
1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large shallots)
1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
1 pound button mushrooms, wiped clean and halved or quartered if large (should match size of pearl onions)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons tomato paste
3 cups dry white wine, California Chardonnay
1 1/2 cups rich chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
        In a Dutch oven fry the bacon until crisp and all of the fat is rendered. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the crisp bacon bits to paper towels to drain.
Season the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper. Brown the chicken pieces in the hot bacon fat, until golden on all sides. Transfer the chicken pieces to a large plate and set aside. Remove all but about 4 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the Dutch oven. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the chopped onion, pearl onions, shallots and garlic cloves. Cook until soft, 5 to 6 minutes.

        Add the mushrooms and cook for 7 minutes longer, or until they've released most of their liquid and have begun to brown. Add the flour and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly add the wine and stock, stirring constantly. Add the thyme, bay leaves reserved bacon and chicken. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook the sauce at a gentle simmer for 15 minutes, until liquid is slightly thickened. Bring the sauce to a boil and cover the pot. Place in the oven and cook for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is very tender. Transfer the chicken pieces to a serving dish and cover loosely to keep warm. Return pot to medium-low heat. Skim any fat from the surface of the cooking liquid and increase the heat to medium-high. Add the heavy cream and cook until the sauce has thickened slightly and coats the back of a spoon-- 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Return the chicken to the Dutch oven and cook for a few minutes to heat through, then serve over wild rice with mango chunks.

Girl of his Dream

• MAC NUT CRUSTED OPAKAPAKA with Papaya Pico
  
  2 ½ pounds opakapaka
  6 TBL melted butter
  ½ tsp ground pepper
  1 TBL lemon juice
  ¾ cup ground macadamia nuts
  Garlic to taste
  
  Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Oil baking pan with 1 TBL butter
3. Place fish in pan, sprinkle with pepper and lemon juice
4. In a small skillet heat the remaining butter
5. Add ground nuts and garlic
6. Stir and cook for 1 -2 minutes
7. Spread mix over fish
8. Bake 15-20 minutes until done

Papaya Pico

½ cup fresh papaya, peeled and diced
½ cup diced tomatoes
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup tsp sea salt
Mix together and serve over fish

DREAM COME TRUE

This novel's story is Christmasy and during that time there is a lot of cooking going on at Pops' house in the country.
Jamey's daughters, Jasmine and Jade, make cranberry sauce, Pops cooks a turkey, and both Tina and her mother bake Christmas cookies to tempt that Carnation clan.

Decorative Christmas Cookies

• Ingredients
  ¾ cup butter, softened
  1 cup sugar
  2 eggs
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  1 teaspoon baking powder
  ½ teaspoon salt
  
  Directions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Chill for 1 hour or until firm.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in thickness. Cut out with Christmas cookie cutters of your choice. Using a floured spatula, transfer cookies to greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire racks.
1. Decorate cookies with frosting, glaze and colored sugars.

Makes 6-7 dozen (2-1/2-inch cookies).
 
Jasmine’s SUPER-EASY CRANBERRY SAUCE

2 – 8 oz packs of cranberries
I orange - zest cut into strips and juiced
½ cup of sugar, 1 cinnamon stick
Combine all ingredients in a pot and boil about 15 minutes, until sauce thickens. Let cool on counter then refrigerate. Take out the cinnamon stick when serving with turkey or pork.
 
Pops' and Jamey’s ‘Four Hour’ Perfect Christmas Turkey!

Preheat oven to 475
Stuff your thawed turkey in both ends and secure cavities
Put turkey in a roaster with 2 inches of water and 5 cloves of garlic
Rub turkey with margarine
Put uncovered pan in oven for 40 minutes, basting with melted margarine every ten minutes
Turn oven to 325, cover turkey with foil and bake for 3 hours (20 pound turkey)
Jamey likes to make gravy with the drippings and serve this with the twins’ cranberry sauce!

Find Buy Links to these books at www.kimhornsbyauthor.net

Kim Hornsby is the Author of Award-Winning The Dream Jumper's Promise available on Amazon Books. She is a Bestselling Supernatural Suspense Author who lives in the Seattle area where she writes during the rainy months.

Women Readers Love Mysteries

Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, Big Little Lies and all the other International Bestselling Novels recently made into movies that have a mystery at the heart of the story, all have one thing in common. They offer a scavenger hunt, a game the reader plays on the journey to guess the ending.
And women LOVE piecing together clues and snippets of information to solve a mystery. The prize at the end can be as simple as why did the couple divorce or how will she get out of this conundrum, or a theme as dark as who is killing women and leaving them in fields.

The game is always the same.
You begin the book with information about the playing pieces, the characters, and as the story line deepens, a good writer will offer clues hidden inside revelations and dialogue for the reader to store as part of the big picture that will eventually include the solved mystery. If the book is a whodunnit, then the reader will start guessing early on based on the nature of the clues given. As more clues are added and red herrings are detected, the readers' guess can change several times before the big reveal.

As an author of suspense, I used to be disappointed when reviewers would write that they guessed the ending back in chapter 3, but lately I've learned to take their bragging as a compliment that shows me they were playing the game and were tickled they won the game early on. When that happens, it's exciting, even if you won't know you're right until the very end.
Guessing early might be the fault of the author to not fool absolutely everyone all the time, or it could simply be a lucky guess. Personally, I love it when my readers are gobsmacked by the ending and didn't see it coming. But, I can't fault a few people for coming to an early conclusion. Especially if they continue reading to see if they are right!
Women enjoy this brain teasing process, this mental game of elimination and puzzle solving. And whether they are surprised by the ending or guess it early on, the journey along the way must be satisfying enough to keep the reader engaged to turn pages until the end.
Writing a mystery adds an extra layer to the story, an additional process of planning that isn't needed for other types of fiction. A mystery needs more plotting, careful leakage of clues, deeper character reveals and much more thought given to the final product to prevent the reader from being dissatisfied with the ending. Of course, the ending is everything in a mystery and it must be tied up sufficiently to give the reader a sense of supreme satisfaction, even if a part of that satisfaction is guessing the ending.
Women love to read mysteries and have always been fascinated by this guessing game. I think it's because as a gender we are problem solvers, wired to sort out the trouble and make sense of it all. While the men go out hunting to bring home dinner, we are left to the do all the mental sorting and planning and organization. And that involves being a good guesser.

As a reader and a writer, I love the game and am thrilled to see that the trend towards this type of novel is on a steep curve upwards and Mystery/Thrillers, Whodunnits, and Suspense/Mysteries are getting movie deals.
Long live the Mystery Novel!







KIM HORNSBY is a Amazon #1 Bestselling Author of Suspense, Mystery and Paranormal Romance who has shared the top 5 lists with Robb, King, Koontz and Evanovich. Her novels can be found on Amazon where her surprise endings will curl your toes.

Alexa Grace - In Memorium

Alexa Grace - In Memorium

I'm saddened today to learn that fellow author, Alexa Grace, has lost her battle with Thymic Cancer and passed away.
Not only a member of Beach Read Authors, a blogging group I co-founded, but an author who participated in several Suspense Box Sets with many of the BRA authors, Alexa was always cheerful, positive and helpful in promoting our projects, using her own money to buy ads for us 'smaller' authors. She was grateful when we decided to donate a portion of our proceeds from the box sets to Thymic Cancer Research and touched that her fellow authors would do this.

I didn't know Alexa face to face, but always held out hope we'd cross paths at a writers' conference someday. She'd achieved USA Today Bestselling status, writing Romantic Suspense and is still selling well on Amazon. With two series, the Deadly Series and the Profile Series, Alexa has thousands of reviews, probably millions of fans and will be missed in the Romance community as a prolific author. Her permafree lead-in to the Deadly Series, Deadly Offerings, is ranked in the top 1500 free on Amazon and has over 3,000 reviews.

Here's what her Amazon bio says:

Alexa Grace is the USA TODAY bestselling author of riveting romantic suspense novels including the Deadly Series and the Profile Series.
Alexa's journeys into suspense are accurate police procedurals with a healthy dose of passion.A voracious reader, she has been influenced by writers ranging from James Patterson to Lisa Gardner to Nora Roberts.
Her books, Deadly Offerings and Profile of Evil,have been recognized by RT Book Reviews as Top Picks.  Profile of Terror was awarded Best Romantic Suspense of 2014 by the Little Shop of Readers Reviewers Choice.
Alexa Grace earned a bachelor's degree in Communication and a Master's degree in Education from Indiana State University.  Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a corporate training director.
An Indiana native, Alexa divides her time between Indiana and Florida. She has a daughter and four Miniature Schnauzers, three of which are rescues.   As a writer, she is fueled by Starbucks lattes, chocolate and communicating with her street team and readers.

Alexa's books live on at Amazon.

Big Little Lies on HBO

HBO launched it's new Sunday series, Big Little Lies, on Sunday at 9 p m and it's a compelling hour of mystery, bitchiness and scenery.

If you read the book by Australia's Liane Moriarty, author of The Husband's Secret, you know that the story timeline jumps all over the map starting at present day with an alleged murder, to months earlier when the first day of kindergarten orientation throws together a group of women in a small seaside Australian town. The timeline continues to jump around as we spend the whole book trying to figure out which one of the characters has died. All this while getting to know their intricate backstories and complicated relationships. One sleeps with a gun under her pillow, one has a lot of PDA along with physical violence behind the scenes.

In HBO's version, written by David Kelley, (Michelle Pfeiffer's hubby,) the story takes place near Monterrey, California and spans 7 episodes that follow the moms of first graders at a wonderful little school that touts all the slogans of today's children: Sharing is Caring, No Bullying, Safety First, etc.
The series opens with the knowledge that someone has died at the school Trivia Night Fundraiser. All parents interviewed on camera say it all started on that first day of orientation for the first graders.

The series' producers include Liane Moriarty, the author herself, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. It is maybe because of this fact that it's been touted as a feminist series, simply because there are five female leads in the script and women are producing it. Something that is a rarity in Hollywood. But, even though it deals with the modern woman problem of juggling jobs and careers with motherhood, I would not label it as anything but a fascinating look into the lives of mothers in a small, affluent community. And an opportunity to see some spectacular Northern California seascapes in the opening credits!


Witherspoon is the likable busy body, Kidman is the quiet beautiful wife of a handsome rich man, Shailene Woodley is the young, poor, single mom who looks horribly out of place, Zoe Kravitz is the free-spirited yoga teacher married now to Reese's ex-husband and Laura Dern is the financial analyst with an au pair and is not particularly well-liked in the mommy community.
All women are brilliant actresses and play their parts with the finesse they are known for, including the young Woodley, who was last seen in Divergent and Fault in Our Stars.

The director has pieced together scenes expertly, giving us an opener that grabs us around the throat to insure we stick with the series to see who died. It's someone we are getting to know well in this series, I'm pretty sure. It's a beautiful thing to have a terrible memory for books, especially now when I can't remember the ending but I guess my memory is shot because as a mother I've had so much other shi_ to remember in the last twenty years! If you're like me, you're going to not only see yourself in these women but enjoy the reveal.

Be sure to catch Big Little Lies on HBO on Sunday at 9.

Kim Hornsby is the Author of Award-Winning The Dream Jumper's Promise available on Amazon Books. She is a Bestselling Supernatural Suspense Author who lives in the Seattle area where she writes during the rainy months.

Goldy hits Gold in Romantic Suspense!

Necessary Detour, my Romantic Suspense, is doing well this month on Amazon Prime and I thought I'd give it a little shout out to offer some tidbits on the publishing story of a book about a newly retired female rock star hiding from a psychotic stalker at her lake house in Washington State.


ND was the second full novel I ever wrote. It was my experiment to see if I could write romance and when I shopped around for a publishing deal, only to get no response, I figured it was my throw away novel to hide and forget, even though I loved the characters and the story.

Nikki is the rock star GOLDY, comparable to Madonna's popularity and longevity, or Beyonce, Lady Gaga, but heartbreakingly beautiful (Of course! It's Romance!) When she suddenly announces her retirement from the music business at the age of 39, the world mourns, the media seeks an answer, and Nikki goes in hiding from a stalker who masterminded an unsuccessful murder attempt at her final concert.

It's a fun read. When I submitted ND to a few romance publishers 5 years ago, Source Books, Carina Press, The Wild Rose Press, I had interest and in the end, the one who came back with a publishing offer was TWRP, a boutique romance publisher that is known for being extremely author- friendly and easy to work with.
I was thrilled, and they published ND at the same time as I Indie Pubbed my other book The Dream Jumper's Promise. I felt like I'd given birth to twins and they were at separate hospitals as I ran back and forth caring for my babies!

Both books did well that first year, ND especially so when it fell it with thriller writers like Dean Koontz and other big names. Because I didn't control the book's cover, description, or other publishing details, I also couldn't see the numbers. I had no idea it was selling like it was until I got a whopping check in May and realized I should have put more effort into my RS. I was oblivious to how well it did those first few months.

Four and a half years later, ND is now with both TWRP and Amazon Encore who asked for it 6 months ago, seeing it did well enough to have a second start at bestsellership. I was honored to be asked!
And just after Christmas, ND was chosen by PRIME to take part in that program. TWRP contacted me and offered me 90 days of PRIME, for a flat payment rate and I jumped on it, never having made that kind of money for one book in 90 days. I was thrilled again!

ND hit #55 in the Kindle Store last week which is frickin' amazing and it's doing really well on PRIME, up there with Romantic Suspense Authors like Elizabeth Naughton and Kendra Elliot. My hubby says this is the little book that just keeps on giving and I have to agree with him.

For a novel that got written with hope, love, humor and then went under the bed due to rejection, I am proud that Nikki and Pete's story has a wide readership. Here's to love and danger!

As one reviewer recently said "It's a great book for the beach or the fireside."
Find Necessary Detour on Amazon.

KIM HORNSBY is a Bestselling Amazon Author who makes her home in the Seattle area where she writes at a desk overlooking a tree-lined lake with a cup of tea always by her side and plane tickets always on her desk.

Thomas and Mercer Imprint Can Contact me Now

I'm sitting at my desk waiting to be discovered by Thomas and Mercer, Montlake, or Lake Union Publishing at Amazon.




If you are an acquisitions editor over there, I invite you to take a look at my body of work. You can have any or all of my books except NECESSARY DETOUR which is already with Amazon Encore and is on Amazon Prime right now.
Amazon already owns that one and it is doing very well this month, having reached #55 in Paid Kindle last week.

Prime Rocks!

I drift in and out of having an author ranking, which is fun.

I just spent the day making a list of agents that might be interested in my next novel FORTUNE, the story of a diminished woman who finds redemption and worth through the adoption of a handicapped newborn in Taiwan. It is a Suspense in the sense that The Husband's Secret and The Girl Who Wrote in Silk were Suspense. Upmarket Women's Fiction, Suspense, Romance, they all work.

As an author, I'm unrepresented by an agent but am open to representation. I tried to get an agent years ago, gave up and self-published (not my idea of optimal) and figure I've spent about 27 solid weeks of my life querying agents. Maybe more, but I've come to the realization that it must be REALLY hard to take a chance on a new client and most agents are not that adventurous.

Or I'm a crappy writer.

But, if it was the latter, why would I have 155 reviews on NECESSARY DETOUR at 4.5* and 3334 reviews on The DREAM JUMPER'S PROMISE at 4.6*? And why would TDJP be an Amazon Bestseller up there with Dr. Sleep by King for weeks?

There is a market for my style and level of writing. Numbers don't lie.

The Dream Jumper's Promise in  4th place (with the BLUE book cover - not the final cover) just behind Dr. Sleep.

The average 40 year-old woman likes my stories if they discover me. Very few readers give my books a bad review. Oh, except for the gal who wrote "The couple was so horny!" She gave me a 2* review for the sequel to PROMISE. That one has 59 reviews at 4.6*. Best worst review EVER!

The final cover to The Dream Jumper's Promise
just under Stephen King's Dr. Sleep (again)

I just read a blog by a gal who got an email from a senior acquisitions editor at Lake Union, Jodi Warshaw, saying they were interested in her self-published novel. They cleaned it up and republished her book and now it's doing better than ever. How thrilling!

I'm open to that kind of attention for any of my books except Necessary Detour which is owned by Amazon already (twice now, I've said this to show that someone over there at Amazon likes my work.)

I looked up how to submit to Thomas & Mercer but there is no information online. Apparently, the various Amazon Imprints must contact you, you don't query them. I suppose agents contact them but they do not take unsolicited queries. I can understand this. They are busy people, vetting the queries through agents. I understand it, but I don't like it. I need an agent too.

So, in a total self-promotional moment, I'm going to list some of my brag-worthy stuff if anyone reading this is an acquisitions editor at Amazon, or a really good agent for what I write.

The Dream Jumper's Promise

Book Signing Event at B & N Maui, Author David Schoonover attended!

I'm standing by now for my dream agent or an acquisitions editor to contact me.

Feel free to check me out on Amazon over here.
Then email me at kimhornsby @ yahoo .com to talk about acquiring something or representing me.

Kim Hornsby is the Author of Award-Winning The Dream Jumper's Promise available on Amazon Books. She is a Bestselling Supernatural Suspense Author who lives in the Seattle area where she writes during the rainy months.

An Audience in Underwear!

Pretend everyone in front of you is wearing their underwear. That's what the public speaking experts say to help get over nervous jitters when addressing a group.
I've never found this helps me stay on topic because of my over active imagination working overtime to conjure up two hundred sets of different underwear, instead of focusing on my talk. One gal has lacy mauve lingerie but the one next to her prefers her white granny panties with an industrial strength bra...that type of thing.

What helps me when speaking in front of a large group is the knowledge that the people out there WANT me to succeed. Genuinely. They WANT to like me. Having invested an hour of their time in me, they are hoping their choice proves to be worthwhile and are prepared to give me the benefit of the doubt about how engaging I will be. This is fact. I have an extensive background in entertainment and reading audiences. Those faces in front of you might look passive but behind their blank expression is interest, agreement and engagement.
Sometimes, when I'm listening to a speaker, I stop and note that I'm wearing my resting bitch face but inside I'm thinking things like Oh, this is good stuff, Yes!, She's funny, I like that last statement.
Even though I'm not showing my support or interest on the outside, I can be nodding my head and smiling on the inside. I try to change my expression to let the speaker know I'm on board even though my previously frozen expression wasn't highly favorable.

As the speaker, you look out on the sea of faces, often observe a whole lot of nothing, and find it hard to carry on. That's why some people take off their glasses during a speech or try to look to the back of the room or directly at empty chairs. It's daunting to see glazed over eyes and surly expressions. Performers have been known to stop a show and call out someone in the front row who is on their phone, texting, but this is never a good thing. One must assume their inner expression is fascination and happiness and carry on as such. Assume the best.

I recently did a book signing/talk at Barnes & Noble Maui (I know, right!) and one particular woman looked bored to tears. I even sped up my talk to accommodate her expression, several times. But when the talk ended and she lined up to buy several books, I realized that she was a big fan, loved my work, and her expression wasn't indicative of what she was feeling. She wanted her photo with me for her social media pages. I was wrong to assume her passive facial expression was boredom. Don't fall in to this trap. It's rarely correct.
Audiences are completely in your corner, cheering for your success as a public speaker.

Here's some quick tips to help you get through a speech or talk:

1. Assume they like you and will find you interesting/funny/engaging. Use self talk.
2. Make eye contact with as many as you can during your talk
3. Smile when you say something amusing but don't guffaw at your own jokes
4. Feel free to pause to gather your thoughts. You can insert a nod or smile here
5. Stand up straight, speak clearly, don't fidget
6. Show your audience that you feel genuine fondness and appreciation for them
7. Imagine a rock star side of yourself who loves the stage
8. Do not giggle nervously or show you doubt your words
9. Thank your audience for listening
10. Pretend you're a big deal!

Good luck out there to anyone whose favorite pastime is not public speaking. Go Get 'Em!

Kim Hornsby is the Author of Award-Winning The Dream Jumper's Promise available on Amazon Books. She is a Bestselling Supernatural Suspense Author who lives in the Seattle area where she writes during the rainy months.